Safari Overview
Enjoy and experience major parks in northern circuits in Tanzania tree cheetahs in Tarangire, Wilderness of Lake Manyara and Serengeti, cultural learning and crater activities in Ngorongoro Crater. This is the real safari within short time of period if you don’t have much time for the longer safari. This tour gives you highlights to Big 5 and more while visiting three parks. Every park is very unique and gives you wide experience of Wildlife, nature and environment.
The Best Value Safari on the Northern Circuit
The 5-day northern circuit safari offers the most complete wildlife experience available in northern Tanzania for its duration. Four parks across five days means a different signature moment every day - elephant mega-herds, migration plains, rhino crater floor, tree-climbing lions - while the per-day cost decreases compared to shorter itineraries. For travellers who can extend beyond 3 days, this is the itinerary that experienced safari operators recommend first.
Daily Itinerary
Leave your Hotel in Arusha at 7:30 am and drive about 2 hours to get to Tarangire National Park, enjoy game drive all day inside the park, expect to see a lot of animals inside the park. Famous for its large elephant population, it is also home to zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, baboons, and dwarf mongoose, impala, buffalo, antelope & fringe-eared Oryx. Predators include lion, cheetah & leopard. The swamps are shared by flocks of birds; green wood hoopoes, lovebirds, tallish herons, white bellied go-away birds & giant kingfishers. On drier ground you will find the kori bustard & the heaviest of the flying birds; the ostrich.
After a full day game drive you will drive for about 45 minutes to get to your accommodation for dinner and overnight at Farm of Dreams Lodge
Today you will drive to the Serengeti National Park, which is one of Africa’s premier game parks. Driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area toward the Serengeti National Park you will begin to experience the vastness of this territory and marvel at the multitude of animal and bird life while cruising through this acacia spotted savannah.
Expect to see a lot of animals including Lions, wildebeest, hyenas, Elephants, Rhinoceros, Buffalos, Leopards, Giraffes, Impalas, Zebras and various species of birds and many more
The Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Serengeti is a year-round destination and each season has its own special highlight with the most famous being the annual wildebeest migration - a once in a lifetime experience. Dinner and overnight at Tukaone Tented Camp
Morning game drive inside Serengeti and after early hot lunch, start driving towards Ngorongoro conservation area. Arrive Ngorongoro conservation area around 5pm at Farm of Dreams Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Today you will be rewarded with a full day game drive in the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
You will visit a Maasai Village in the Ngorongoro Highlands (optional at extra cost) where you will meet the Elders, Warriors, women & children & learn about the culture, beliefs & traditions of Tanzania’s last nomadic tribe.
The Crater is famous for Africa’s best game viewing as there is an ever-present abundance of wildlife due to the permanent water supply on the crater floor. You will descend 610 metres into the Crater where your safari truly begins. Spot the endangered black rhino, wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, eland, Grant’s & Thomson’s gazelle & giant tusked elephants plus lions & leopards, cheetahs as well as scavengers such as spotted hyenas, jackals & wild dogs. Over 500 species of birds have been recorded within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Later evening you’ll start heading back to your lodge for dinner and overnight at Farm of Dreams Lodge
Today you will visit Lake Manyara National Park for a full day game drive. Stretching along the base of the Rift Valley escarpment it is home to giant fig trees, acacia woodlands, mahogany trees & grassy flood plains. The contrasts of this area are simply breathtaking with its open plains, huge escarpment, Soda Lake, dense woodlands & distant volcanic peaks coming together in an area best described by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.
Animals such as buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes, mongoose, dik dik & zebra herds congregate on the grassy plains while the acacia woodland is home to the legendary tree-climbing lions & tusked elephants.
Lake Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s bird life with more than 400 species being recorded. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual migration as well as other large waterbirds such as pelicans & storks.
In the late afternoon you will return to Arusha for your final evening
The Four Parks - What Makes Each Unique
| Park | Defining Feature | Key Wildlife | Landscape | Best Sighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarangire | Africa's greatest elephant concentrations; ancient baobab landscape | Elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, giraffe, fringe-eared oryx | Dry-season savanna, red earth, Tarangire River, termite mounds | 200+ elephants at the river; dry season July - Oct |
| Serengeti | World's greatest wildlife migration; highest big-cat concentration on earth | Lion, cheetah, leopard, wildebeest, zebra, elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile | 14,000 km - endless plains, kopje outcrops, acacia woodland, seasonal rivers | Mara River crossings (Jul - Oct); dawn lion hunts on open plains |
| Ngorongoro | World's largest intact caldera; closed ecosystem with year-round wildlife | Black rhino, lion, cheetah, leopard, hyena, elephant, zebra, wildebeest, flamingo | Volcanic crater floor, open short-grass plain, crater lake, Lerai Forest | Endangered black rhino; lion pride encounters on open crater floor |
| Lake Manyara | Tree-climbing lions unique to this location; Rift Valley drama | Tree-climbing lions, flamingo, elephant, buffalo, hippo, mongoose | Rift Valley escarpment, groundwater forest, acacia woodland, soda lake | Lions in fig trees at eye-level; thousands of flamingo on the shoreline |
Wildlife encountered across all four parks on this safari:
From Price
Minimum price only, based on 2 people sharing. Final pricing depends on season, availability and requested customizations.
| Package | From Price |
|---|---|
| Per Person | From $2,170 per person |
What's Included
Included in Your Price
Not Included
Best Time to Visit
All four parks offer excellent game viewing year-round. Ngorongoro's enclosed ecosystem never truly has an off-season. Tarangire reaches its spectacular dry-season peak July - October. The Serengeti's Great Migration follows a seasonal circuit with the river crossings in July - October and calving season in January - March. Lake Manyara's tree-climbing lions are present year-round.
| Park | Best Season | Highlight | Year-Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarangire | Jun - Oct (dry) | Elephant mega-herds at the river | Good wildlife all year; wet season = lush, superb birding |
| Serengeti | Jul - Oct (crossings); Jan - Mar (calving) | Mara River crossings; calving season on southern plains | Resident lions, cheetahs, leopards present every month |
| Ngorongoro | Year-round | Black rhino, resident lion prides | Closed ecosystem: excellent wildlife density every month |
| Lake Manyara | Jun - Feb | Tree-climbing lions; flamingo flocks | 400+ birds year-round; hippos always in lake shallows |